Donatello's Promise
by StarScheme
Summary: Donatello receives a strange gift and meets an even stranger girl. Though she claims to have known the techy Turtle in the past, Donnie has no memory of her. What is this promise she speaks of and what will this mean for April? Will Donatello be forced to finally come to terms with his feelings? Can this new girl be trusted? They'll find out one way or another.
1. A Strange Package

**Chapter One: The strange package**

The streets of New York had been uncharacteristically quiet the past few nights. Though the Turtles had patrolled the city, there was not much for them to do. It wasn't as if they minded. All except for Raphael who was getting anxious with no one to punch.

"This is boring!" Raphael exclaimed in frustration, turning his back on his brothers to head for the lair. "I'm going home."

Leonardo nodded his head, "yeah, we should head back."

Donatello stayed still as his brothers began to turn back. He looked down at the empty streets, "uuh, you guys go ahead."

"Isn't it a little late to call April?" Leonardo asked, stopping just at the ledge of the roof.

"I-I didn't say I was calling April!" Insisted Donatello.

"Yeah, yeah, just don't be too late, or Master Splinter will worry." Leonardo demanded before he jumped from the roof to follow his brothers home.

Once the others were gone, Donatello pulled out his t-phone and did just as he insisted he wasn't going to. He dialed Aprils number and sat down on the edge of the rooftop nervously. With things so quiet, April hadn't been around much and there were few excuses to call her out, but perhaps tonight he could be brave.

The phone rang for a while and when there was no answer, his shoulders slumped in disappointment. He hung up the phone and held it in his lap, watching the streets below. He sighed heavily and gathered the courage to try again, but his phone rang out in a melody, startling the turtle. Donatello scrambled to answer the phone and did his best to sound relaxed since he knew who was at the other end.

"Hey...April." He answered in mock confidence.

"Donnie, what's going on?" April replied, seemingly worried to receive his call.

"Oh! Uh...well I was just wondering if you...maybe wanted to go and get something to eat? I mean, we finished patrol and uh-"

"Oh...um...I'm sorry Donnie, I'm about to see a movie with Casey right now. Maybe next time?" April replied in an apologetic tone.

Truthfully, Donatello was crushed by this. Not just because April had declined his invitation, but because she was Casey instead. Just to add insult to injury. At least she couldn't see the hurt that was so clearly plastered on his face.

"Donnie?"

Donatello gathered himself and straightened his back, hoping to play this off as best he could. "Yeah," he began awkwardly, "I-I'll catch you next time, see you April." Saying a quick goodbye, he waited for April to do the same, once she had he was able to hang up. It was better to leave the conversation quickly so that she wouldn't be able to hear his disappointment. After all, she knew him rather well by now. Once he placed his T-phone back into his belt, he stared down at the streets with a brand new feeling of dejection. He hated the uncertainty he felt when it came to April and each time he decided to give up and just walk away, she'd find a way to pull him back in. He just couldn't seem to let go completely. Everyone said he didn't have a chance with her, but he just couldn't give in.

As Donatello pondered all of this, he spotted something coming from the alleyway below. A young woman was walking on her own, clutching a large package in her arms. She didn't seem to fit in with this part of town. Her long brown hair was put up in a classy bun, done up with what looked like small diamonds. She had a black shawl over her arms and shoulders for the cold, but it may not have been enough since she was in what looked like a dark blue, form fitting evening gown. This was a pretty poor part of town, she was definitely not from around here. People around here needed to be quick at night and there was no way she could run quickly in those heels she wore. Donatello watched the girl curiously, wondering what someone like her was doing out here.

The girl actually seemed to be looking for someone or something. She was frantically looking all around the streets, but she didn't seem panicked. Perhaps she just didn't want to be followed. She held her package tight, walking slowly along the curb, looking down at the streets until she stopped at a sewer grate. Donatello raised a brow as the woman set her package down and kneeled down on her hands and knees to peek into the grate. Certainly some strange behavior from such a rich looking young lady. He was even more curious when she actually grabbed the bars of the grate and pulled it up, not without difficulty, but she managed eventually. She looked around once more before she grabbed her package and dropped it down into the sewers. This was even more surprising. Once the package was dropped, she pulled the grate back into position and stood up, patting down her knees of the dirt from the street and quickly shuffled off back through the alley she came from.

Donatello waited a moment or two, wondering if the woman was going to return. When she didn't, he jumped down onto the streets and rushed to open the sewer grate. He jumped down to inspect what the girl had dropped, a little suspicious of what it might be. The package was floating down along the sewer waters. He rushed to catch it and though the paper had mostly been soaked off by the water, what was inside seemed protected by tight plastic wrapping. It seemed to be adressed to someone, the writing a little hard to see through the cling wrap. Donatello wondered why she would dispose of a package in the sewers. Perhaps she was trying to keep it from someone?

The techy turtle decided to open it up and check the contents inside, or at least to whom it was adressed. He pulled a bit of the plastic wrap off slowly until he began to see the writing on the package.

 _'For the Turtle, Donatello Hamato.'_

Donnie stared down at the writing, confused and shocked. He had never seen that girl before, but she dropped a package down here that was meant for him? He didn't waste much time after that. He quickly unraveled the wrapping, revealing a soft blue blanket that had a small tool box inside. He put the blanket on his shoulder to keep it from the water and opened the tool box to see brand new, rather expensive gear. There was also a letter inside with his name on the front. He this was just getting stranger and stranger. He opened the letter, just like the label on the package, it was handwritten and looked to be delicate and graceful.

 _'Dear Donatello,_

 _Forgive me for being so late. I hope this gift finds you well. I took great care in its delivery to make sure the waters won't rust your new tools. I am not sure how long this will take to reach you or even if you will find it at all. It's been so long, that I don't even know if you are still in this city, but I am putting all my hopes in that fact that you are. Since I've finally returned to New York, I would like nothing more than to see you again, just as I promised. I have no idea how long it will take, but I promise that I will wait. Every night, I will wait for you in the alleyway behind the abandoned tea shop on 7th and Hathorn. I'll be there every night in hopes that I'll see you. Until then, I can only pray this finds you well._

 _Sincerely, Aria'_

The letter was adressed to him, but the contents made it sound as if they were old friends. The girl spoke as if they had known one another before. What was this promise she spoke of? She was apologizing for being late? Late for what? He didn't know know anyone named Aria. Still, she said she would be waiting for him every night in the same place. Though it could have been a trap. He stood in the sewers, ankle deep in the waters as he stared at the letter inside of the tool box. This had all been meant for him, but he wasn't sure if he could trust it or not.

 **A/N: Hello! Hope you all like it so far. Most of the stories that I write are not very light hearted, but this one will be. At least, I am planning on it. The next chapter will be out soon. Hope to see there! Leave your comments and thoughts cause I'm always happy to hear from you. :)**


	2. A New, Old Friend?

**Chapter Two: A New, Old Friend?**

It had been a few days since Donatello received the letter. He hadn't shared the information with his brothers yet, but as a way to confirm the letter, he had been sneaking out each night to see if the girl kept true to her word. Sure enough, for the past few nights, he would stake out the alleyway and each night, the girl would be there waiting. She wasn't always dressed nice, but for the most part, it seemed as though she just came from a fancy party of some kind.

He watched her cautiously, trying to determine if this could be a trap for him somehow, but so far all he observed was a young girl waiting in the cold. The techy turtle was starting to feel a little guilty for that. After all, she was waiting for him. Each night she would show up and wait for hours, looking around anxiously in hopes to see him. Finally, after watching her for a while, Donatello determined nothing was to be gained from it. He'd meet her and perhaps he'd get answers then.

Tonight, Donatello stood at the rooftop above the alleyway in which she promised to wait, determined to meet with her this time. Still, he found he was actually a little nervous. This girl may have made a mistake. What if he was not what she expected? It was no secret that he wasn't the best when it came to girls, even if this wasn't a date or anything, it felt quite similar. He felt a little sick now.

As the turtle grappled with his nerves, he heard footsteps in the distance. Heels clicked against the pavement, the sound echoing in the streets while the woman approached the alley. She wore a fancy black trench coat, her hair curled and done up in a ponytail. Once again, it appeared as though she had come from an event of some some kind. Clearly, this girl had money. Like the nights before, Donatello observed her walk slowly to the end of the alley and stood by the wall to wait.

Donnie waited a few minutes and gathered his courage, taking a deep breath before he decided to finally take a leap and meet this girl. He jumped down onto the street and peeked into the alley cautiously. Aria took notice of the sudden movement, but seemed unable to clearly make out what it was.

"Hello?" She called out softly.

Donnie exhaled quietly and stepped out into view, holding his breath a little while he looked at the young girl. He could finally see her face. The girl had bright emerald eyes that seemed to shine when she caught sight of Donatello and freckles laced her nose. She was quite lovely actually. It didn't help his nerves. A girl like this was waiting for him out here in the cold? He opened his mouth to speak, but before he was able to speak, the young woman had dashed forward and wrapped her arms around him, almost knocking the shocked turtle backward.

"Gah-" exclaimed Donatello as he placed a hand on her back, trying to steady himself to make sure they didn't fall.

"You came!" Aria began happily, pulling back so that she could see his face. "I'm so happy!"

Donatello blushed furiously when he looked down at the girls face. She seemed so happy to see him and it wasn't as if he was used to girls just throwing themselves at him like this. "U-uh yeah, I did...heh..." He stammered a bit, placing his hands on her shoulders to gently push her from him. "...I uh-I got your letter."

Though Aria was slightly disappointed that he had pushed her away, she didn't seemed deterred. She smiled once again, beaming happily at the techy turtle. "I was so worried you had left the city or something. I'm so relieved that my gift reached you. Did you like it?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, glancing away awkwardly, "I-I did. Thank you. I uh...I appreciate the gift and all...but um..." His voice trailed off a bit, unsure how to tell this girl that he didn't know who she was. She looked so happy that it made him feel like a jerk for not knowing.

As Donatello contemplated how to break it to her, Aria was busy digging into her pocket. She pulled out a small braclet with a tiny diamond star charm. "Look, I brought it with me." Aria exclaimed as she held it out for Donnie to see. He glanced down at the braclet with a blank stare, unsure exactly what significance it had for him. The way he looked at the braclet seemed to register with Aria. Her smile faded and her hands dropped slightly as she looked down at her feet. "You...you don't remember?" She asked quietly, clearly crestfallen over this discovery.

The turtle panicked now, her mood changed so rapidly that he wasn't sure what to do. April didn't shift that fast. "U-uh! I'm...a little fuzzy on a few things." He answered, trying his best to ease her mood somewhat.

"If you remembered...you would have..." Aria trailed off and a silence formed between them until she shook her head and looked back up at the turtle. "It's okay that you don't remember right now. At least you're here."

"But...when did we meet? I mean, I don't know what I did to deserve a gift or..."

Aria placed the braclet back in her pocket and shook her head again, "I'm gonna keep that a secret," she replied with a smile. "...I believe that you'll remember me. ...in time. I'm just so grateful you're here. ...perhaps...we could get reaqauinted? I came back to the city in order to see you after all."

Donatello smiled a little. She was clearly upset, but she was also trying. He should do the same. "Well...I guess there's no harm in that." He agreed.

Aria's eyes lit up at once and though it looked as if she wanted to hug him again, she held herself back and simply extended her hand, "My name is Aria Dawn."

The turtle felt much more at ease now, though still slightly concerned. He reached out and shook her hand. "I'm Donatello Hamato."

Aria pulled her hand from his slowly, never taking her eyes from his. "This may be a lot to ask, but could we meet again? I mean...not in an alleyway, but perhaps somewhere we can talk a little more? Is there an easier way to contact you?"

"Oh uh, I have a phone..." Started Donatello.

"Wonderful! Here, Lets exchange numbers." Aria insisted, getting into her purse and pulling out her own cellphone.

Since he didn't see the harm in that, he took out his T-phone and the two exchanged numbers. He was actually glad he did so after seeing Aria's face. After she entered his number into her phone, she looked so pleased, hugging her phone to her chest a bit.

"Um...so...you're not upset with me?" He asked, placing his phone back into his belt.

Aria looked up at him in silence for a moment, as if wondering what to say. "...I probably just expected too much, but that doesn't matter. I'm confident that it will come back to you. ...besides...you came to see me...and that means the world to me right now."

Donatello blushed and averted his eyes from her face awkwardly. "I was curious. So-heh, you know..."

"Now that I'm back in the city, we can see one another a lot more. I'd love to have you over sometime." Aria said happily.

"Have me over? Well I-"

"Oh don't worry! I mean, of course we will have to get reaqauinted first. ...well...I should head back for now. ...if I'm gone too long...well it wouldn't be good."

"Oh! Um...d-do you need help getting home?" Donatello asked, not entirely sure what to do. Dealing with girls was not his strong suit and this girl seemed to be very fond of him. It threw him off a little, making him more nervous than he should have been. After all, April was the girl he loved.

Aria beamed at the turtle happily when he offered such a thing, but she shook her head. "No thank you, but it was very sweet of you to ask. ...but...would it be okay if I asked a small favor of you?"

"Like what?" Donatello asked.

Aria's cheeks tinted a light pink just before she leaned up on her toes and pressed her lips to Donatello's cheek. Her kiss lingered there for a moment of two before she pulled back and quickly lowered her head to hide her face. "If you'll just...forgive me for that..." She said quietly, dashing off and heading out to the street. "I'll speak with you soon, Donatello! I promise!"

Donatello was completely shocked still, staring wide eyed at nothing as he heard the click of Aria's heels fading away while she ran. He certainly hadn't expected anything like that. He shook his head to try and gather himself. This girl...she was certainly something he was not expecting at all. This was the first time a human girl had been so affectionate with him on their first meeting. Was it actually possible that a human girl would be so fond of him? After all...even April seemed to prefer human males. Donatello took a deep breath and smiled a little. At the very least, he had made a new friend, right?

Aria had run off down the block until she approached a black car, not breaking her stride as she opened the door to get in the back seat.

"Were you able to meet your friend, young miss?" The driver asked causally.

"...I did..." Aria began, pulling out the star charm braclet once more and gazing down at the piece of jewelry in her hand. "After all this time...I can finally fulfill my promise."

"That's wonderful, Miss. Now let's get you home. You must attend to-"

"I know what I have to do," interrupted Aria quietly, "...don't worry. I haven't forgotten. For now though...I just want to focus on Donatello. He needs to remember his promise...he just has too...before it's too late..."

The driver said nothing more. He only nodded his head and started the car, pulling away from the curb to drive Aria back home. As she was driven along the street, Aria leaned her head against the window and sighed. "He just has to remember me..." She whispered to herself, clutching the braclet gently in her hand. "He just has to..."

 **A/N: Chapter two is done and I hope you all enjoyed it. Please leave reviews and let me know what you think so far. I also love hearing your theories about the plot. What do you think of Aria? Do you think Donatello can trust her? Hmmm. Well I love you all and I can't wait to see you in the next chapter! See you next time! :)**


	3. Aria in the Sewer

**Chapter Three: Aria in the Sewer**

Since exchanging numbers with Aria a few days ago, Donatello was being spammed by an abundance of messages. This girl seemed rather keen on keeping in touch and mind describing every moment of her day to the techy Turtle. There was always a 'Good morning,' to wake him up and a 'Goodnight' before she went to sleep. Donatello was having a little trouble keeping up with her to be honest and he found this situation annoyingly reminiscent of his encounter with Bigfoot. Though Aria was not physically there, he had to put his phone on silent so it wouldn't constantly get in the way of patrol or general daily life. It wasn't as if she were being pushy, she just seemed bored. Still, it was a bit exhausting and hard to keep up with her. Perhaps it was his fault. Whenever Aria would bring up the subject of seeing him again, the turtle dodged the question and perhaps it made her feel a bit dejected. He just wasn't sure how to handle this yet.

After meeting with Aria, he had searched his brain for any memory of her, but came up empty every time. When could they have met? She looked like a girl who came from money, so when would their paths have crossed? He was raised in the sewer after all and it took Splinter 15 years to allow them up to the surface. There was one thing however, that seemed to strike a chord. The star charm bracelet that she pulled out to show him; it seemed familiar. He couldn't place it, but something about it felt nostalgic in a way. Perhaps it was just that he was thinking about it too much, but if they did have a connection, that bracelet might have had something to do with it.

Back in the lair, it wasn't just Donatello who found this all curious. His brothers and April could tell that something was going on with him. At first, the turtles assumed he was texting April, but when she denied it, they were back to square one.

"I say we take the phone…" whispered Raphael as he and the others huddled together to make their plans while Donnie worked in his lab.

"Isn't that going a little far," asked April, "we should just ask him who he's talking to."

"That's no fun at all," interjected Raphael, "we take the phone."

As the others whispered in their huddle, they didn't notice Donatello coming up behind them.

"What are you guys doing," asked Donatello as he loomed over the huddle with a suspicious gaze.

The huddled group jumped back with a start and quickly went on the defensive, "NOTHING," they all shouted at once.

Donatello sighed in exhaustion. "You guys are terrible liars."

His Brothers and April exchanged looks, seemingly working out what to say. However, before any of them could explain, an alarm went off in Donatello's lab. The techy Turtle had set up sensors down in the sewers that would sound whenever someone or something might wander a little too close to home. Wasting no time, they rushed for his monitors and once Donatello turned on the screen, they were all shocked to see a rather finely dressed young woman. Her hair was tied back in a braid and the purple sundress she wore was tied in a knot just above her ankles. No doubt to keep the sewer water from staining it in any way. Although her shoes looked expensive and she didn't seem terribly worried about them getting dirty. She held a rather large picnic basket in her arms, struggling to keep it from getting too low, afraid it might dip into the water.

While the others puzzled over what such a girl was doing down in the sewers, Donatello immediately recognized the girl as Aria. The Turtle panicked and quickly stepped back from the group, turned his back to them, and pulled out his phone. He had set it to silent and by doing so, it appeared that he missed a slew of messages from Aria that day.

 **10:22am  
"Hey! What are you up to? My schedule suddenly opened up." **

**10:40am  
"I thought I would try my hand at cooking up a lunch for us!" **

**11:56am  
"I think I made a pretty decent meal. It would be perfect for a little picnic." **

**12:08pm  
"Oh, but you can't come up here for a picnic, can you? That's too bad. ****"**

 **12:10pm  
"I know! I'll come down into the sewers to see you! I'm sure you know a little place that we could enjoy the food. "**

 **12:30pm  
"Which Manhole cover would be closest to you? I feel like I might get lost down there."**

 **12:35pm  
"Oh! Nvm, I'll just use the one I pushed the gifts down into. Lol"**

As Donatello scrolled through all the unread messages, his internal panic began to show on his face. He turned back to his brothers and stared at the monitors with them. He watched with the others as Aria tried to navigate the sewers and seemed to be doing her best not to gag at the smell of it. Clearly, the girl was not used to such aromas.

"What do we do?" Mikey asked Leonardo, turning to his older brother for an answer.

However, before Leonardo could say a word, Donatello sighed heavily and cleared his throat. "I-I know her. ...Let me go and um…talk to her."

His brothers all turned to stare at Donatello in surprise before playful smirks laced their lips.  
"You _know_ her?" they asked in unison, leaning in around their brother in curiosity.

Donatello blushed hard and his gaze found April, who didn't seem to be as curious as his brothers. She simply stood by the monitors, staring at the turtles in surprise. A part of him was worried about her hearing all this, but there was a bigger part that hoped she might be a little jealous. Still, he was too embarrassed to try and make this work for him.

"W-we've just been talking a lot. She's like—a texting buddy." Donatello stammered as he tried to explain.

"A texting buddy that also comes to visit you with a large picnic basket for a romantic lunch?" teased Raphael.

Donatello reached his limit and nervously pushed his brothers away from him.  
"J-just stay here! I'll go and talk to her!"

"Why not invite her over? We'd love to meet your new girlfriend." Leonardo added with a sly smile.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Donatello shouted as he quickly made his way from the room and towards the exit.

They waited until Donatello was out of sight and they looked at one another.  
"We're gonna follow him right?" Mikey asked seriously.

"Duh." Leo and Raph answered in unison before turning to leave. Though they turned back to address their red headed friend. "You coming?" Leonardo asked with a smile.

April stared at them for a moment. It was strange. Normally, she would be teasing Donatello with them and eager to go meet this new girl, but she felt a small pit in her stomach. She wasn't upset or anything, she was just…surprised. Yeah. That had to be it. It was just surprising that Donatello had a new friend that he didn't tell her about. After all, didn't he tell her everything?  
April took a deep breath and shook her head to bring herself back from her thoughts.  
"Y-yeah, of course!" she replied, trying to ignore the funny feeling in her gut.

In the tunnels, Donatello was rushing to go and meet with Aria. Splinter wouldn't be happy to know they were bringing more people to the lair without discussing it with him and he was not ready for Aria to meet his brothers. He wasn't embarrassed by her, but he wasn't eager for his brothers to keep teasing him about her.  
Since he saw where she came in on the monitors, it didn't take him long to find the young woman. He turned the corner to see Aria as she suddenly slipped on a bit of algae and fell on her bottom, dropping the picnic basket.

Luckily, he was fast enough to dash over and catch the basket before it fell into the sewer water.  
He sighed in relief once it was in his hands, but a blush rushed to his cheeks once he realized his position. He was standing over Aria as she sat down on the floor, holding herself up with her hands to keep from falling further. Their faces were rather close, since he had to lean over to grab the basket.

Aria stared up at Donatello with a nervous smile, a pink shade tinting her cheeks, causing her freckles to stand out even more.  
"Thank you…" she began softly, unable to tear her eyes away from his own.

Donatello flinched and fumbled backwards with a nervous smile of his own. He placed the basket down away from the water and swiftly tried to gather himself, offering Aria a hand to help her up.  
"It was nothing."

Aria stared at his hand and slowly brought her hand forward, placing it in his own and allowing him to help her steady herself.  
She made no attempt to take her hand from his and smiled up at him.  
"I wasn't sure I would see you. Since you didn't answer my texts…I started to worry that you might be sleeping or…training…"

Donatello was all too aware that they were still holding hands, but he felt it would be rude to pull his hand back. He still wasn't entirely sure how to act around girls and Aria clearly had some sort of attachment to him. Though he wasn't sure where it came from or why.  
"Oh! N-no! It's just…I can't always check my phone so…I didn't see them right away. You know…it's dangerous for you to come down here alone. You already slipped."

"I don't care about that. As long as I get to see you," Aria replied with a smile, stepping forward and closing the distance between them.

Donatellos shoulders stiffened a bit when she edged closer to him. Her emerald gaze seemed so optimistic and cheerful; he felt a strong sense of responsibility not to upset her.  
"W-well…if you want to see me…we probably shouldn't meet in the sewers. You look really out of place and doesn't the smell bother you?" He asked in concern.

Aria blushed a little further, looking a bit troubled now as she pulled her hand from his slowly.  
"Do I really?" she asked, playing with some loose strands of hair that framed her face. "I wanted to look nice when I saw you…so I…"

"You do!" Donatello added in a panic, worried that he had said something wrong.

Aria felt her heart jump in her chest and she glanced back up at Donatello, unable to hide the smile on her face. "…Really? Well a little slip was worth it then. I don't mind looking out of place as long as you think I'm cute." She admitted with a blush.

The Techy Turtle was not used to speaking with other girls. Even less so when that girl seemed so keen on pleasing him. Well, there was Bigfoot, but that was vastly different. This was a young human woman around his age, and she was admittedly quite attractive. What could he have possibly done to make her so eager to be around him? He would have remembered saving someone like her from danger and according to her texts, the girl had only just recently returned to the states after spending most of her life in England for school. Where could they have met?  
Donatello gathered his thoughts and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.

"Well, since you're here, I guess we can eat whatever you made. I mean, since you went to so much trouble."

"OH! Of course! I brought a blanket to sit on. So if you know a nice place to sit down…" she trailed off, rushing over to the basket to pull out the purple blanket checkered blanket.  
"I hope my coming down here wasn't a bother for you. …if it's better I don't come down here, I understand. It's just…" her voice trailed off once more, holding the blanket to her chest and wondering how to convey her thoughts. "…you could always come and see me at my home. It's very private…and you wouldn't get exposed coming to see me. There are lots of things to do and eat there. …so if you…ever wanted…"

Donatello cleared his throat and glanced away, noting that her embarrassing expressions were rather endearing.  
"W-well—we can talk about that later. You don't have to worry about being a bother or anything. We're friends after all, right?"

Aria gripped the blanket tight.  
Donatello clearly still didn't remember her, but he was willing to see her and speak with her, so she had to be patient. Though, it was difficult to hold back. Even if it didn't seem like she was, Aria was actually working hard not to smother Donatello with her affection.  
"Yes, we're friends…" she replied with a small smile.

 **A/N: First, I should apologize for being away so long. Without saying too much, it was a difficult Medical/Family issue. It took a long time for me to settle back into my daily life, but I'm back now. I hope that you will all continue to Follow Donatello in his own little side story.**

 **I updated my profile in order to inform everyone on what days they can expect weekly updates for each story. Please take a look if you are curious. :)  
See you all again soon! **


	4. Meet the Family

**Chapter Four: Meet the Family**

April and Donatello's brothers were all bunched together, peeking out from the side of a nearby tunnel, watching in fascination as Donatello helped Aria to set up a small picnic in the sewers. Which was strange in itself. Stranger still, this girl looked even more out of place in person than she had on the monitors. Everything she was wearing looked expensive. They all stared intently at the girls face. She was beaming so happily as she unpacked the food she had prepared for Donatello. They were dumbfounded. A little hesitant to come out now. They had initially planned to show themselves, but it looked too much like a date now and they felt awkward.

April was confused as well and the strange pain in her gut began to grow. She suddenly felt a little under dressed. They were in the sewer, but that girl was dressed so nicely and her hair was done so well. April wasn't very feminine when it came to clothes and such, but that had never been an issue. However, for some reason, she felt slightly shabby in comparison.

"Do you think they're really going out?" whispered Leonardo

"No way," April answered quickly, "I mean, I doubt it."  
Even as she said it, she wondered if she were telling the truth or not. Donatello couldn't have gotten a girlfriend, could he?

They all watched closely as Aria blissfully made Donatello a plate of food. It certainly smelled good. They were not trying very hard to conceal themselves; in fact, they were each struggling to get a better look and pushing one another to be in front. April seemed to be the only one that didn't care to see it. She certainly wasn't going out of her way to fight off the others in order to look.

While his brothers all struggled to get a better look, Donatello was slowly tensing up. Aria may not have noticed them, but Donatello could see them from the corner of his eye. Kneeling down on the blanket and holding the plate that Aria had given him, he was praying she wouldn't see his nosy family behind him as they peeked out from the tunnel.

"Is something the matter?" Aria asked Donatello when she noticed he wasn't eating. Did he not like the food?

Donatello flinched a bit and quickly looked down at his food in a panic.  
"N-nothing! I was just thinking…about how good everything smelled!"

Aria blushed and another smile laced her lips. "Oh, I'm glad. I tried making everything that you liked best…and what I couldn't make…I bought," admitted Aria.

"So what did you make yourself, then?" Donatello asked curiously, trying to ignore the eyes on them. Especially the blue eyes of the redhead he had fallen in love with. A part of him worried about April seeing this and getting the wrong idea, but there was another part that wondered if maybe it would make her a little jealous.

Aria looked a little more embarrassed than before, "…to be honest, I was only able to make those little pizza bagels. I'm afraid I'm not very good at cooking just yet. I never had the time, but look, I made sure to buy some of the best chocolate cake you will ever have. I know how much you love chocolate."

Donatello's nerves were beginning to ease when he noticed how awkward Aria seemed to feel. Though he wondered for a moment when he had ever mentioned that he liked chocolate. Did he tell her through a text?

"Would you like to try some?" Aria asked, pulling out a box containing a large slice of chocolate cake. When she opened the box, the smell of chocolate reached him and Donatello smiled. He couldn't remember the last time he had chocolate that smelled so nice.

Donatello placed his plate down on the blanket, "I would, thank you," he replied. However, when he looked back up after setting down his food, Aria was holding out a small bite of the cake for him with a fork. Did she want to feed him? He didn't want to assume anything like that. He must have been mistaken.

"Say 'ahhh,'" Aria began happily.

He was not mistaken. All of the alarms in his head began to go off and he felt his cheeks burn, his body tensing up once again.  
"U—uh, a-are you sure?!" He asked, his voice pitching a bit.

Aria's smile only grew and though a blush laced her cheeks as well, she didn't pull back. Instead, she brought the tasty treat a little closer, meeting his maroon colored eyes with her emerald hues.  
Everything went completely silent and for a moment or two, Donatello was too nervous to move, but once he finally began to lean in, his brothers gasped and all fell forward from their corner.

Aria and Donatello flinched, the bit of chocolate cake falling into the girls lap when she jumped in surprise. Donatello quickly got to his feet and turned to glare at his brothers, who hadn't bothered to pick themselves up yet.

"Oh-uh…hey, Donnie," greeted Leonardo, stuck at the bottom of the pile and trying to act casual. "We just…um, stopped by…to uh…meet your new friend."

"It's your brothers?!" Aria began in a panic as she got to her feet and tried to wipe the cake off. "It-it's nice to meet you." She greeted nervously, still attempting to clean herself a bit to make a good impression. She hadn't expected to meet them all so soon, but she was happy all the same.

The turtles all pushed the others to get to their feet, though Leo tried to keep them from frightening off the girl. The turtles leader smiled at Aria and tried to ignore Donatello's disapproving gaze.  
"My name is Leonardo, this is Mikey, Raphael, and our friend April." He greeted, gesturing at them all, stopping at April as she only now began to walk over.

Aria was happy to meet his brothers, but was surprised to see a girl there. It wouldn't have been a problem, if it hadn't been for what she saw when April walked out. A glance at Donatello's face told her all she needed to know. His eyes followed April as she moved and he looked anxious, but not in the same way he did when he was with her. She didn't like it.  
Turning her attention back to Leonardo, Aria tried to remain calm. With her best smile, she addressed them again.  
"My name is Aria Dawn, it's a pleasure to meet all of you, finally."

His brothers smirked a bit, their eyes finding Donatello once again.  
"So, are you and Donnie…special friends?" Raphael asked

"Raph!" Donatello interrupted at once. "that's enough, come on Aria, I'll walk you out." He added, placing his hand on Aria's shoulder and turning her away from the others.

"Aw, don't be like that, Don. We just wanted to say hi!" Mikey tried.

April was surprisingly quiet, holding one of her arms with her hand. She was usually friendly with others, but something about Aria seemed to rub her the wrong way and she wasn't sure why. After all, they hadn't exchanged any words and she didn't know her at all. There was just…something about her that bothered April.

Though Donatello was trying to lead her out, Aria stopped on her heel and glanced back to see his brothers.  
"U-Um! This was a terrible setting for a first meeting," she began, "I would love for your whole family to come and visit me. I could introduce myself properly and I promise to provide delicious food."

"Yeah, I'll talk to them about it, come on now," Donatello said hastily, leading Aria further down the tunnel. He felt a little rude, but having April and Aria in the same room made his stomach ache. He felt guilty. After all, he could tell that Aria liked him, but he was in love with April, and he didn't want to upset April.

Aria allowed Donatello to lead her away, reaching a ladder at the end and stopping just short of it.  
She was quiet all the while, but something bugged her.  
"…You…never mentioned a girl named April. Or…any girls at all," Aria began.

"W-well, I was going to, but you only asked about family and April is more of a—well she's…"

"You like her." Aria finished for him, her smile faded now as she stared down at the chocolate stain on her dress.

Donatello tensed once more. She could tell already? Was he that obvious? He glanced away and wasn't sure how to respond.  
In his silence, Aria looked up at him now, a serious look in her eyes.

"Are you two…a couple?" she asked finally.

That question didn't make him nervous, it made him sad.  
"No…" he answered, clearly sullen by the fact.

Aria's face seemed to perk a bit, though she didn't care for the look on his face.  
"Then I won't give up."

Donatello flinched a bit and looked back at her with concern, "whoa, wait a sec, you could see that I like—"

"—but you're not a couple," Aria finished for him, stepping closer to him. "I wasn't planning on moving so quickly…but after seeing your face when she appeared…"

"Aria…" Donatello tried quietly.

"—but it's okay!" she insisted, determination in her eyes. "I've waited a very long time to meet you again. So I'm not about to lose. One day…I'm sure I can make you look at me the same way you look at her. I know that I can make you happy."

Donatello felt a little backed into a corner. Aria was certainly straight forward with her feelings. He was actually a little touched. He still didn't even have the courage to tell April he was in love with her, and yet, here Aria was, laying it all out face to face.  
He opened his mouth to reply, but Aria stopped him by taking his hand.

"I don't need…or want an answer right now. I don't want to pressure you. Just know…that I am here…and that I do love you. I'll do whatever it takes…to make our promise come true."

"Promise?" Donatello repeated, more curious now than embarrassed. She had mentioned a promise before, but never went into detail.

"You don't have to remember that either. Look, I'll send you an address on where to meet me. You can bring your whole family and I promise it will be secret and safe for all of you. I want to do this right."

"I still don't really know what you mean," Donatello admitted with a nervous smile, "but—um…I appreciate…your feelings." He ended finally. He couldn't think of another way to put it without hurting her.

"That will do for now," Aria said with a smile, gripping his hand a little and leaning up on her toes to kiss his cheek.

Donatello felt his cheeks burn again and he watched in mild amazement as Aria pulled back to turn towards the ladder. He was not used to this, but it felt nice. He shook himself mentally before stepping forward to help her up onto the ladder.

"I'll uh—talk to Sensei about going to meet with you…" he agreed, trying to make her see that he wasn't going to blow off.

"I look forward to it," Aria said happily as she climbed the ladder. Once she was at the top, she could see that Donatello was half covering his eyes. Most likely to keep from looking up her dress as she climbed.  
She got to the surface and stared down into the manhole.  
"I'll see you soon, Donatello." She said before the manhole cover began to recover the entrance, watching Donatello wave at her until it was completely closed.

"Did you have a good time, Miss?" A young man asked, dressed in a drivers uniform, all black and with a strange insignia on his lapel. A car was waiting next to the manhole, as if he had been waiting there the entire time.

"I'm a little late…" Aria began sadly.

"Not at all, young Miss. You're early, in fact. I didn't expect you back until—"

"Not to meet **you,"** Aria snapped irately. "He has someone he likes."

The driver seemed shocked by the news and his shoulders dropped a bit. However, he still smiled and reached over to place his hand on her shoulder.  
"What will you do?"

"I'm not going to give up. I'm running out of time. …I just…got here a little late."

"Well than, we should go home and prepare. You need to recoup after all this and we'll get you washed up," he suggested calmly.

Aria nodded her head a little. "Yes. …I'll do that, but in the meantime, I want to find out everything I can about this girl, April."

"Understood," answered the driver simply as Aria turned to head for the car. He followed after her, opening the door and allowing her to slip into the back of the black vehicle.

Back in the tunnels, Donatello had returned to his brothers, only to find that they were busily chatting and eating the food that Aria had brought with her. Except for April and Leonardo, who both seemed annoyed at the other two.  
Once Leonardo spotted Donatello return, he quickly rushed over to him.  
"I tried to stop them," he said quickly.

Donatello was honestly still a little dumbfounded and found he cared very little about the food. However, once he saw Mikey reaching for the chocolate cake, a quick flash of Aria's embarrassed face came to mind, offering to feed him a bite. Without thinking, Donatello dashed over and snatched the cake away from Mikey.  
"You guys are unbelievable," he huffed.

"Hey! It's not like we planned on interrupting." Raphael stated evenly.

"Yeah, Mikey pushed us out." Leonardo added.

"Did not!" protested Michelangelo, "April shoved me."

"I didn't shove you! I-I tripped is all. It was an accident." April insisted awkwardly. Admittedly, when she saw Aria about to feed Donatello as if they were lovers, that terrible feeling in her gut grew larger and before she knew it, April had pushed Mikey's back to cause a distraction and stop them. Not that she was planning to admit that to the others.

Donatello held the cake box in his hands as he glanced at April.  
"Well...just…try not to scare her off," started Donatello, "she's a friend."

"Of course, a _friend_ …" chimed his brothers in unison, each with a knowing smirk on their face.

 **A/N: So my update is late. What else is new, right? Lol  
Well I hope you like this one. Keep reading and posting comments please. I hope to see you all next time. Love you! **


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